2025 U.S. Nationals: Day 5 Prelims Live Recap

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets (Updated 6/02)
• Live Results
• How To Watch (USA Swimming Network)
• Prelims Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
• Finals Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Day 5 Prelims Heat Sheet

Well, friends, it’s been a quick five days, but thankfully, the swimming has been equally as fast as records on both the men’s and women’s sides have been taken down. With just three sessions remaining, this one, the distance session and the finals, there are limited opportunities for swimmers to make the team.

This morning, we see just two events, but they are certainly some of the most enjoyable to watch: the 200 IM kicks off the morning, and “the splash and dash” 50 free closes it out.

After a flurry of scratches, Alex Walsh finds herself alone atop the 200 IM field as both Kate Douglass (#1) and Torri Huske (#3) have both opted to contest the 50 free. Walsh, the only remaining entrant in the field with an entry time of sub-2:10, represented the United States in this event last Summer in Paris, recording a time that would have been good for the bronze medal, but she was DQed for an illegal back to breast turn.

With Walsh likely locking down the top spot, the battle for second is wide open. Last year’s 3rd place finisher and the new #2 seed Isabel Ivey appears, on paper, to be the one to step onto the 2nd step of the podium, but will be hard pressed by both Beata Nelson and Leah Hayes, who, like Ivey, are still looking for their ticket to Singapore.

Hayes, of the three, has the best PB, having been 2:08.91 back in 2022 when she won the bronze medal at Worlds. Hayes booked her ticket to Budapest that year when Douglass, the Tokyo bronze medalist in the event, opted not to contest the event, so Hayes has the historical precedent to take her spot.

The men’s 200 IM saw no scratches amongst a presumptive top 8 that pits training partners Carson Foster and Shaine Casas against one another. The pair have both already punched their tickets to Singapore, so will be under less pressure. Chasing the top two seeds, however, are Kieran Smith and Owen McDonald.

The pair, who each have scratched events earlier in the week to better their chances, are the 3rd and 4th seeds, but each are over a second back of the top two and will be hard-pressed to break up the Longhorn pair, who went 1-2 at Trials last year and represented the United States in Paris. Smith placed 6th in the 200 free and has a roster spot on paper, but it’s very tenuous as he currently ranks 26th of 26th based on priorities and with the three events on tap this morning, there is a possibility of a new name jumping ahead of him.

We conclude the morning with the 50 free, and both the women’s and men’s fields are loaded.

The Women’s 50 Free sees five of the top six American performers entered in the event. Gretchen Walsh leads the way as the top seed with her 24.06 entry time, but American record holder and teammate Douglass sits 6th in the entry list and opted to swim this event over the 200 IM. Defending Olympic Trials champion and 2nd fastest American ever, Simone Manuel will be in the hunt for her first individual event in Paris but will have to get past both Walsh and Huske, who are seeded ahead of her. Don’t sleep on the 37th seed, Claire Curzan, either. The 6th fastest American ever, the UVA-based swimmer who has already punched her ticket to Singapore, is only ranked so far down as she is entered with a yard time.

We end the morning with the Men’s 50, where last year’s runner-up, Chris Guiliano, is the top seed. The Texas Longhorn who swam the 50/100/200 free in Paris is still looking for his first individual event for Singapore after qualifying for the team with his 3rd place finish in the 100 free. Jack Alexy, who set a US Open record in the 100 free prelims, is the #2 seed and looks like a strong contender to add another event after having time-trialed the event to a new PB of 21.49 earlier in the week, becoming the 7th fastest in American history

Looking to break up the duo are Michael Andrew, Ryan Held, and Matt King. Andrew, the 5th fastest US male, is like Smith, looking to solidify his spot on the roster as his 2nd place finishes in the 50 fly and 50 breast makes him highly likely but not confirmed to be on the roster. Held, who was bumped from 7th all-time by Alexy, and King, who placed 3rd last summer in the 50 at Trials by just .01, are both seeking their ticket to Singapore.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – Prelims

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2015)
• American Record: 2:06.15 – Ariana Kukors (2009)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:06.79 – Kate Douglass, USA (2024)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Winner: Kate Douglass – 2:06.79
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 2:12.83

Top 8

1. Alex Walsh (NYAC) – 2:10.92
2. Leah Hayes (CA) – 2:11.22
3. Caroline Bricker (ALTO) – 2:11.63
4. Phoebe Bacon (WISC) – 2:11.68
5. Audrey Derivaux (JW) – 2:11.90
6. Campbell Chase (TXLA) – 2:12.28
7. Lucy Bell (ALTO) – 2:12.82
8. Teagan O’Dell (PLS) – 2:12.97

Up through the start of the circle-seeded heats, the early leader was the 48th seed Molly Sweeney. The Carmel Swim Club product, who was entered in the meet with a yards time, posted a 2:14.15 out of the second heat.

Ranked 3rd after the two scratches this morning, Beata Nelson was a no-show in the first of the circle-seeded heats,  a heat that went of Lucy Bell. The 200 breaststroke NCAA champion, the Stanford Cardinal, who placed 6th in this event back in March, used a strong breaststroke to take over the lead from Teagan O’Dell. Bell dropped a 38.02 breaststroke split to make up around 2.5 seconds on O’Dell to trail only Campbell Stoll who also passed O’Dell. The trio turned onto the freestyle leg all within half a second, but it was Bell who got her hand to the wall first in 2:12.82, out touching O’Dell by .15 and with Stoll just .01 behind that.

Caroline Bricker made it two heats in a row for the Stanford Cardinal as the 200 fly champion took the penultimate heat in a time of 2:11.63. Bricker trailed the earlier leader, Audrey Derivaux, 1:02.05 to 1:00.60, but, along with Phoebe Bacon, passed the 15-year-old after the breaststroke. Bricker and Bacon, just .25 apart, had a drag race down the home stretch, and while Bacon closed the gap, the Wisconsin badger ran out of the pool, touching just .05 back of Bricker’s 2:11.63. Last year’s 3rd place finisher at Trials, Isabel Ivey, couldn’t match the trio’s pace and finished 4th in heat in a time of 2:14.10.

The last heat saw two Virginia Cavaliers take over the lead from Bricker. 2024 Olympic finalist Alex Walsh jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Out in 1:01.49, she and Hayes (1:01.83) used sub-38 breaststroke splits to separate themselves from the rest of the field, and the pair cruised home to touch in 2:10.92 and 2:11.22 and will occupy the middle lanes in tonight’s final.

MEN’S 200 IM – Prelims

• World Record: 1:54.00 — Ryan Lochte, USA (2011)
• American Record: 1:54.00 — Ryan Lochte, 2011
• U.S. Open Record: 1:54.56 — Ryan Lochte, USA, 2009
• 2024 Olympics Trials Winner: Carson Foster – 1:55.65
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 1:59.05

Top 8

1. Shaine Casas (TXLA) – 1:57.70
2. Carson Foster (UN) – 1:58.15
3. Owen McDonald (ISC) – 1:58.43
4. Kieran Smith (RAC) – 1:58.50
5. Grant House (SUN) – 1:58.57
6. Trenton Julian (MVN) – 1:58.71
7. Mitchell Schott (PRIN) – 1:59.05
8. Baylor Nelson (TXLA) – 1:59.30

Heat 3’s Daniel Diehl got things going in the men’s 200 IM. The highest-ranked swimmer in the field entered with a yards time. The NC State swimmer, occupying lane 1, dropped the first sub-2:00 time as he hit the wall in 1:59.38.

The first of the circle-seeded heats saw Grant House stake himself an early lead as he opened in 24.5 to lead at the 50. House was still in front at the 100, but the #3 seed overall, Kieran Smith used a strong backstroke to jump up to second. However, it was butterfly specialist Trenton Julian who used a strong 3rd 50 to jump into the lead. The trio all went to their legs on the last 50, but it was Smith, the two-time Olympian, who got his hands on to the wall first, touching in 1:58.50, making up the 1.09-second gap he had at the 150 mark. House and Julian were close behind with the pair touching in 1:58.57 and 1:58.71, respectively.

Shaine Casas asserted his authority early in the 6th heat as he opened in 53.7, less than a quarter of a second off the World Record pace. That pace couldn’t hold up as the breaststroke, Casas’s weakest stroke, saw the Texas Longhorn swimmer fall back more than a second of Ryan Lochte’s Record. Leading by over two seconds at this point, Casa was a man alone as he came home into the wall in 1:57.70, taking over the top time from Smith. Training partner Baylor Nelson used the fastest last 50 so far (29.01) to finish in 1:59.30 and currently sits 5th overall with one heat remaining.

The last heat was a duel between Carson Foster and Owen McDonald. Foster was just a few inches back at the 100 as McDonald made the turn in 54.07 to Foster’s 54.22 but the Longhorn’s 34.65 breaststroke split pulled him into the lead, one which he never relinquished as he held off McDonald and took the heat win in 1:58.15, with McDonald not far back at 1:58.43. Princeton’s Mitchell Schott had a strong performance, dropping .26 off his personal best to place 3rd in the heat in 1:59.05.

Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps’s coach, has an interesting connection to the field as he is currently the coach of Foster, Casas and Nelson and when he was at ASU worked with McDonald and House.

Women’s 50 Freestyle -Prelims

• World Record: 23.61 – Sarah Sjöström, Sweden (2023)
• American Record: 23.91 – Kate Douglass (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 24.00 – Abbey Weitzeil, USA (2023)
• 2024 Olympics Trials Winner: Simone Manuel – 24.13
• 2025 World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 24.86

Top 8

1. Gretchen Walsh (NYAC) – 24.30
2. Kate Douglass (NYCA) – 24.38
3. Torri Huske (AAC) – 24.42
4. Julia Dennis (UOFL) – 24.57
5. Simone Manuel (TXLA) – 24.70
6. Maxine Parker (CA) – 24.75
7. Annam Olasewere (CPAC) – 24.85
8. Cadence Vincent (BAMA) – 24.92

Heat 1’s Emily Claesson of Virginia Tech threw down in the first heat as she went a new PB of 25.64, slicing .15 off her previous best. Her time didn’t last long at the top of the leaderboard, as just one heat later, Texas A&M’s Kaitlyn Owens, the 7th place finisher at SEC produced a time of 25.45.

Owens’ time would stand up through the start of the circle-seeded heats when the American Record holder, Kate Douglass, dove into the water. With Olympic Trials winner Simone Manuel to her right, Douglass got herself an early lead and never looked back as she hit the wall in 24.38. Manuel looked good for the first half of the race but was overtaken by Julia Dennis, the 3rd place finisher at NCAAs. Dennis, who represents Louisville, dropped a new PB of 24.57, slicing .22 of her previous best to outtouch Manuel by .13.

Heat 6 saw Torri Huske explode off the blocks. Huske, the Olympic silver medalist in the 100 seemed as if she was in a field of her own as she hit the wall in 24.42 winning the heat by over half a second as Rylee Erisman touched 2nd in 25.03, just ahead of Kristina Paegle’s 25.05.

Huske would be the only swimmer to advance out of her heat as the 7th heat advanced three swimmers into the final led by Gretchen Walsh. Walsh, the winner of the 50 and 100 fly earlier in the week, touched in 24.30, a little off her entry time of 24.06, but faster than her season best of 24.33 from the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series, a meet where she broke two World records in the 100 fly. The final tonight will have a very strong resemblance to the NCAA final as Maxine Parker and Cadence Vincent will join Walsh and Dennis in the final tonight. The pair representing UVA and Alabama at NCAA finished 6th and 8th back in March, and they were 24.75 and 24.92 this morning, finishing 2nd and 3rd behind Walsh in the final heat. Coincidentally they, respectively, are the 6th and 8th seeds into tonight’s final.

The lone junior swimmer to make the final, Annam Olasewere, will occupy lane 1 tonight as the Stanford commit dropped .1 of her PB to record a new mark of 24.85

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 20.91 – Cesar Cielo, BRA (2009)
• American Record: 21.04 – Caeleb Dressel, (2019/2021)
• U.S. Open Record: 21.04 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Winner: Caeleb Dressel – 21.41
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 22.05

Top 8

1. Jack Alexy (CAL) – 21.59
2. Jonny Kulow (SUN) – 21.75
3. Santo Condorelli (UN) – 21.87
4. Chris Guiliano (TXLA) – 21.93
5. Quintin McCarty (WOLF) – 22.03
6. Matt King (ISC) – 22.08
7. Daniels Baltes (OSU) – 22.09
8. Patrick Sammon (SUN) – 22.14

Ben Scholl and Wells Walker of Wolfpack Elite and Texas A&M were the early leaders as the pair of swimmers from heat 3 went 22.34 and 22.37, which were the top times through the start of the circle-seeded heats (Both are scheduled to swim tonight in the B Final).

Jonny Kulow greatly improved his chances of making the trip to Singapore as the ASU swimmer won the first of three circle-seeded heats in 21.75. A Wyoming native, Kulow famously placed 9th in the event at the Olympic Trials last summer after tying twice with Adam Chaney. His swim this morning improved upon his PB of 21.79 from the first swim-off.  Kulow, earlier in the week, placed 5th in the 100 free, but with the men’s roster lacking swimmers with multiple events, he is on the chopping block of being cut.

Joining him in tonight’s A-final from his heat are Daniel Baltes and Kulow’s teammate Patrick Sammon, who each went PBs to finish in 22.09 and 22.14 and will occupy lanes 1 and 8 tonight. Notably, the top-seeded swimmer in the heat and #3 overall, Michael Andrew, placed 4th with a time of 22.22 and missed making the A-final by .08.

Heat 6 saw some fireworks as Jack Alexy, the US Open record holder in the 100 free, blasted to the top of the leaderboard with his 21.59, a time that is just .1 slower than his 21.49 time trial result from earlier in the week. Alexy was joined under the 22-second barrier by the other “Mr. Worldwide” Santo Condorelli.

Born in Japan and raised in Oregon, Condorelelli has represented both Canada and Italy on the world stage, and his 21.87 this morning puts him into contention to do the same for the United States, as he enters tonight as the #3 seed.

The last heat was a slower affair, as only two swimmers advanced into the final. Chris Guiliano, the runner-up at the Olympic Trials last summer and the top seed, won the heat in 21.93. Still seeking his first individual swim, Guiliano did what was needed and will look to get back down to his PB of 21.59 from the Olympic Trials Semis last summer. Joining him in the final from heat 7 is the 50 backstroke winner Quintin McCarty. The NC State Swimmer, who placed 7th in the final last summer, was 22.03 this morning and slots in as the 5th seed tonight, one spot ahead of the 3rd place finisher from last year Matt King.